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HIGHER  EDUCATION  AND  THE  PEOPLE  * 


BY  PROFESSOR  HENRY  C.  ADAMS  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY 


No  one  can  regret  more  than  myself  the  enforced  ab- 
sence of  Dr.  Angell,  President  of  our  University,  to 
whom  this  paper  on  “ Higher  Education  and  the  Peo- 
ple” was  assigned  in  the  program  as  originally  drawn. 
It  is  evident  that  this  topic  should  receive  consideration  in 
order  to  round  out  the  educational  feature  of  our  program, 
which  explains  why  I have  consented,  at  the  last  moment, 
to  say  a few  words  respecting  it.  The  topic  is  of  peculiar 
significance  when  discussed  before  a Michigan  audience. 
This  State  stands  committed  to  the  policy  of  public  educa- 
tion and  gives  to  the  phrase  a broad  and  comprehensive 
meaning,  including  not  only  what  is  technical  and  gen- 
eral, but  the  idea  of  popular  education  as  well,  for  it  is 
no  misuse  of  language  to  include  the  Farmers’  Institutes, 
as  at  present  organized  and  conducted,  as  part  of  the 
educational  system  of  the  State.  It  is  an  interesting  fact 
that  at  this,  joint  meeting  of  the  Farmer’s  Institutes  and 
the  Michigan  Political  Science  Association,  everyphase 
of  the  probiem  of  education  receives  either  direct  or 
indirect  consideration. 

In  discussing  the  relation  of  higher  education  to  the 
people,  I shall  undertake  no  extended  definition  of  higher 
education.  It  is  a term  which  changes  its  meaning  from 

*This  paper  was  read  February  25,  1902,  at  a joint  meeting  of  the 
Michigan  Political  Science  Association  and  the  Michigan  Farmers’  Insti- 
tutes. It  forms  part  of  a general  program,  the  object  of  which  was 
to  discuss  the  bearing  of  education  upon  rural  prosperity.  This  pro- 
gram included  a paper  by  President  J.  L.  Snyder,  of  the  Agricultural 
College,  upon  the  “ Economic  Value  of  Industrial  Education,”  a paper 
by  the  Hon.  L.  D.  Harvey,  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  in 
Wisconsin,  upon  “Changes  Demanded  in  the  Educational  System  of 
Rural  Communities  ” and  a paper  by  the  Hon.  Delos  Fall,  Superin- 
tendent of  Public  Instruction  in  Michigan,  upon  “The  Rural  School 
Problem  in  Michigan.”  It  seems  proper  to  make  this  statement  in 
order  to  explain  why  the  illustrations  in  the  present  paper  are  confined 
strictly  to  the  class  of  work  done  in  universities. 

(1) 


time  to  time  in  order  to  meet  the  changing  needs  of  the 
community.  As  used  in  the  present  discussion,  it  in- 
cludes both  the  general  and  technical  instruction  offered 
by  colleges,  and  the  research  carried  on  by  instructors  in 
these  institutions.  This  last  point  seems  to  me  of  great 
importance,  for  under  existing  ideas  relative  to  education, 
an  institution  of  higher  learning  must  be  a center  for 
investigation  as  well  as  a place  for  instruction.  The  ex- 
tension of  knowledge  is  as  truly  a function  of  universities 
as  is  the  imparting  of  that  knowledge.  The  true  teacher 
must  be  an  investigator. 

Thus  defined  the  relation  of  higher  education  to  the 
people  may  be  considered  from  three  points  of  view. 
These  are  as  follows: 

First.  The  point  of  view  of  those  who  seek  an  edu- 
cation. 

Second.  The  point  of  view  of  those  who  make  use  of 
the  services  of  experts  and  professional  men  trained 
at  the  college  or  university. 

Third.  The  point  of  view  of  the  political,  social  and 
industrial  conditions  which  are  in  large  measure  the 
product  of  higher  institutions  of  learning. 

So  far  as  the  individual  student  is  concerned,  very  lit- 
tle can  be  said  upon  the  topic  in  hand.  Were  the  ques- 
tion of  education  entirely,  or  even  primarily,  a personal 
question,  there  would  be  no  answer  to  the  argument  that 
he  who  is  benefitted  by  the  instruction  ought  to  pay  for  it. 
But  this  presumption  does  not  present  the  matter  in  its 
true  light.  Our  society  is  a complex  affair.  Each  class 
depends  for  its  prosperity  upon  the  prosperity  of  other 
classes.  The  life  of  each  individual  is  bound  up  with  the 
life  of  all.  Such  being  the  case  the  advantage  of  an  edu- 
cation to  the  individual  cannot  present  the  point  of  view 
from  which  the  question  of  the  relation  of  the  higher 
education  to  the  people  may  reasonably  be  discussed. 

There  is,  however,  one  observation  relative  to  this 

(2) 


aspect  of  higher  education  of  peculiar  significance  to  us 
in  Michigan.  It  is  a matter  of  no  slight  importance  to 
the  citizens  of  this  State  that  the  highest  in  education 
lies  open,  and  practically  free,  to  any  one  who  desires  to 
avail  himself  of  its  advantages.  Under  such  conditions 
education  can  never  result  in  the  establishment  of  a priv- 
ileged class.  It  can  never  get  very  far  from  the  needs  of 
the  people.  It  can  never  become  an  aristocratic  affair. 
From  the  primary  school  to  the  university  the  opportunity 
of  securing  an  education  lies  open  to  every  citizen  of  the 
State.  Were  it  not  for  the  constant  recruits  from  all 
classes  of  the  people,  the  University,  and  1 doubt  not 
also,  the  Agricultural  College,  might  as  well  close  its 
doors. Statistical  data  in  support  of  this  statement  could 
be  submitted,  were  that  necessary,  but  I leave  this  phase 
of  the  subject  to  hasten  to  what  seems  of  relatively 
greater  importance,  namely,  the  general  and  social  ad- 
vantage of  maintaining  higher  institutions  of  learning. 

The  second  point  of  view  from  which  the  relation  of 
higher  education  to  the  people  maybe  considered  pertains 
to  the  character  of  the  service  rendered  by  the  men  and 
women  who  receive  collegiate  and  university  instruction. 
The  range  of  knowledge  at  the  present  time  is  so  broad 
that  no  one  person,  however  gifted,  can  become  its  mas- 
ter. Specialization  is  the  rule  in  all  progressive  life,  and 
the  degree  to  which  specialization  is  carried  may  be 
accepted  as  a measure  of  social  advancement.  The 
product  of  successful  specialization  is  the  expert.  It  may 
be  that  the  motive  which  leads  one  to  become  an  expert 
is  the  hope  of  personal  advantage  which  knowledge  gives, 
but  it  would  be  a mistake  to  assume  that  this  advantage 
stops  with  him  who  by  strenuous  study  becomes  an  expert. 
Indeed,  we  do  not  begin  to  measure  its  importance  until 
we  appreciate  the  extent  to  which  it  is  used  by  the  pub- 
lic at  large.  We  are  apt  to  overlook  the  fact  that  it  is 
impossible  to  develop  an  expert  of  high  efficiency  without 

(3) 


raising  the  general  plane  of  excellence  in  the  class  to 
which  he  belongs.  An  expert  physician,  for  example,  is 
only  possible  upon  the  basis  of  a highly  developed  science 
of  medicine.  Such  a physician  must  avail  himself  of  the 
thousands  of  experiments  in  the  many  laboratories  scat- 
tered throughout  the  world.  Each  laboratory  makes  its 
contribution;  each  publishes  its  discovery.  As  isolated 
facts,  these  contributions  and  discoveries  are  of  slight 
importance,  but,  correlated  with  the  contributions  and 
discoveries  of  other  laboratories,  they  build  up  a body  of 
useful  knowledge  which,  in  the  hands  of  a skilled  physi- 
cian, permits  not  only  the  alleviation  of  pain,  but  the 
control  of  disease  before  regarded  as  a sentence  of  death. 

Citizens  of  Michigan  may  contemplate  with  pride  this 
phase  of  the  argument,  for  no  medical  school  in  this 
country,  and  few  in  Europe,  have  made  more  positive  or 
helpful  contributions  to  the  science  of  medicine,  during 
the  last  quarter  of  a century,  than  the  one  which  our 
State  supports.  One  or  two  illustrations  of  what  the 
development  of  the  science  of  medicine  has  done  in 
recent  years  may  not  be  inappropriate. 

Diphtheria  used  to  be  one  of  the  most  dreaded  of  dis- 
eases, and  well  might  this  be  the  case.  Before  the 
discovery  of  modern  treatment,  fifty  cases  in  an  hundred 
terminated  fatally;  at  present  the  ratio  of  mortality  is 
ten  in  an  hundred.  In  the  matter  of  milk  and  milk  poi- 
sons, there  has  been  wonderful  advance  in  recent  years. 
The  records  of  fourteen  hospitals  in  the  City  of  New  York 
show  that,  in  the  case  of  children  brought  for  treatment 
suffering  from  summer  complaint,  the  average  rate  of 
mortality  has  been  reduced  from  eighty-five  per  cent  to 
fifty  per  cent.  I might  continue  such  illustrations  with- 
out number,  but  these  mentioned  are  adequate  to  show 
that  technical  excellence  on  the  part  of  the  physician  is 
of  more  importance  to  the  patient,  and  to  us  who  are 
friends  of  the  patient,  than  to  the  physician  himself. 

(4) 


The  individual  practitioner  may  be  satisfied  with  a degree 
of  excellence  just  above  that  of  his  competitors,  for  that 
would  enable  him  to  obtain  the  highest  fees;  what  soci- 
ety wants,  however,  is  a high  plane  of  excellence  on  the 
part  of  all  practitioners.  If  this  be  true  (and  the  illus- 
tration applies  equally  to  all  expert  and  professional 
knowledge),  the  people  at  large  are  more  vitally  inter- 
ested in  the  maintenance  of  higher  institutions  of  learn- 
ing, the  product  of  which  is  a high  level  of  professional 
excellence,  than  are  the  persons  who  attend  those  insti- 
tutions. 

If  such  a view  of  the  case  be  conceded,  the  question 
of  the  relation  of  higher  education  to  the  people  is  thrown 
into  a newer  and  truer  light  than  when  regarded  from 
the  point  of  view  of  those  who  receive  instruction.  The 
State,  whose  function  it  is  to  guard  and  develop  the  inter- 
est of  the  entire  people,  is  not  called  upon  to  apologize 
for  the  expenditure  of  so  much  money  as  may  be  required 
to  place  at  the  disposal  of  the  humblest  citizen  the  ad- 
vantage of  expert  training.  The  people  are  interested  in 
maintaining  experiment  stations  in  all  branches  of  useful 
knowledge. 

It  may  perhaps  be  objected  that  investigation  and  re- 
search are  not  a proper  function  of  institutions  founded 
for  instruction.  To  this  I can  only  make  reply,  that, 
speaking  generally  and  with  the  sanction  of  the  history 
of  civilization,  the  research  which  has  blest  the  world 
has  emanated  from  the  universities.  When  institutions 
of  higher  learning  cease  to  investigate  and  content  them- 
selves with  teaching  what  the  world  already  knows,  the 
development  of  civilization  will  be  arrested ; the  world 
will  have  entered  upon  a period  of  retrogression  and  de- 
cay. I know  of  no  other  way  by  which  the  direct  inter- 
est of  the  body  of  the  people  in  higher  education  can  be 
more  clearly  expressed.  These  educational  institutions 
are  a part  of  the  social  order.  They  perform  a function 

(5) 


essential  to  the  welfare  of  society.  They  render  a ser- 
vice direct  or  indirect  to  every  member  of  the  community. 

Turning  now  to  the  third  point  of  view  from  which 
higher  education  may  be  regarded,  let  us  consider  the 
general  as  distinct  from  the  particular  services  rendered 
by  higher  education.  This  has  been  foreshadowed  in 
what  has  already  been  said,  but  it  is  capable  of  more 
definite  expression  by  means  of  a few  specific  illustrations. 

Upon  what,  let  us  ask,  in  the  first  place,  does  indus- 
trial prosperity  depend?  Speaking  broadly,  I reply,  it 
depends  upon  the  character  of  the  soil  and  of  the  climate, 
and  upon  the  posession  of  raw  material  for  manufacture. 
It  depends  also  upon  the  safety  of  property  and  the  secur- 
ity of  contract.  It  depends,  finally,  upon  the  intelligence 
of  the  people  which  enables  them  to  make  use  of  natural 
opportunities.  It  is  the  third  of  these  conditions  of  pros- 
perity which  places  emphasis  upon  education,  Intelli- 
gence has  always  been  regarded  as  essential  for  effective 
labor.  In  mediaeval  times,  when  men  used  tools,  iudus- 
trial  training  was  secured  by  means  of  a seven  years’ 
apprenticeship  in  whatever  trade  or  craft  was  chosen,  a 
fact  which  goes  far  toward  explaining  thewondeful  hand- 
work that  has  come  down  to  us  from  the  fourteenth  and 
fifteenth  centuries.  At  present  tools  have  given  way  to 
machine^,  and  ability  to  invent  new  methods  of  produc- 
tion and  to  direct  large  aggregations  of  labor  have  come 
to  be  of  prime  importance  in  the  maintenance  of  industrial 
efficiency.  Consider  this,  for  a moment,  on  the  side  of 
invention.  An  hundred  years  ago  inventions  were  more 
or  less  accidental.  The  thought  that  Nature  could  be 
conquered  by  patient  study,  and  her  forces  harnessed  to 
the  treadmill  of  industry,  thus  making  possible  the  eman- 
cipation of  mankind  from  excessive  toil,  was  not  in- 
cluded within  the  range  of  practical  thinking.  Contrast 
this  with  the  present  point  of  view.  Invention  is  now 
a profession.  The  Bell  Telephone  Company,  for  exam- 

(6) 


pie,  which,  whatever  we  may  say  of  it  as  a monopoly, 
has  conferred  inestimable  benefits  upon  the  community, 
has  upon  its  payrolls  the  names  of  men  who  are  trained 
in  the  sciences  and  the  arts,  all  of  whose  time  is  spent 
in  the  laboratory  with  the  view  of  perfecting  this  means 
of  transmitting  thought.  This  is  not  an  isolated  case. 
Every  branch  of  industry  has  its  experts.  No  industry 
can  continue  to  be  progressive  without  its  experts,  and  if 
we  admit  that  the  modern  system  of  industrial  organ- 
ization based  upon  machinery  is  of  advantage  to  the 
world,  we  cannot  evade  the  conclusion  that  the  higher 
institutions  of  learning  which  train  experts  are  an  essen- 
tial factor  in  establishing  and  maintaining  our  present 
industrial  efficiency.  The  inventor  is  as  important  to 
the  preservation  of  industrial  prosperity  as  is  the  physi- 
cian to  the  preservation  of  health,  and  when  each  man, 
whatever  his  business  or  occupation,  appreciates  to  what 
extent  his  personal  success  depends  upon  the  mainte- 
nance of  general  prosperity,  he  is  forced  in  courtesy  and 
in  honesty  to  acknowledge  a debt  of  obligation  to  that 
educational  system  which  includes  within  its  curriculum 
scientific  training  for  investigation.  Without  our  schools, 
not  only  would  further  progress  be  arrested,  but  we 
should  soon  lose  the  general  intelligence  necessary  to 
avail  ourselves  of  the  technical  progress  already  made. 

The  same  conclusion  would  be  reached  were  we  to 
consider  the  importance  of  efficient  management.  No 
man  today  can  work  alone.  The  principal  of  division  of 
labor  is  of  universal  application.  This  is  only  another 
way  of  calling  attention  to  the  importance  of  organiza- 
tion ; and  it  goes  without  saying  that  if  a thousand  men 
are  to  work  together  they  must  work  under  the  direction 
of  a single  mind,  and  that  their  efficiency  as  a working 
body  depends  upon  the  manner  in  which  their  labor  is 
directed.  But  ability  to  manage  a great  industry  comes 
not  by  birth ; it  is  the  result  either  of  experience  or  of 

(7) 


technical  training.  If  learned  in  the  school  of  experience 
it  is  the  public  that  foots  the  bill,  because  it  is  the  pub- 
lic that  finally  must  bear  the  burden  of  mistakes  and 
failures.  It  is  far  cheaper  for  the  public  to  provide  schools 
for  the  training  of  men  into  whose  hands  may  be  placed 
the  management  of  great  industries.  Is  it  not  then  evi- 
dent that  in  business  as  well  as  in  the  professions,  the 
demand  for  training  is  primarily  a public  demand,  and 
that  the  body  of  the  people,  whether  we  regard  the  ques- 
tion from  the  point  of  view  of  organized  workers  seeking 
direction  or  from  that  of  the  consuming  public  have  a 
most  direct  and  imperative  interest  in  the  maintenance  of 
those  institutions  which  give  the  needed  special  training. 
Such  considerations  as  these  suggest  what  I belive  to  be 
the  true  relation  between  higher  education  and  the  people. 

Were  further  illustration  of  this  sort  necessary  I might 
refer  to  the  industrial  history  of  Germany,  whose  recent 
commercial  importance  rests  directly  and  avowedly  upon 
her  educational  system.  She  has  developed  more  exten- 
sively than  any  other  country  facilities  for  commercial 
and  technical  instruction.  In  England,  also,  is  it  coming 
to  be  recognized  that  the  continuance  of  commercial 
supremacy  depends  upon  the  development  of  educational 
facilities;  while  in  the  United  States,  the  necessity  for 
commercial  and  technical  education  is  forced  upon  the 
universities  and  colleges  by  the  desire  on  the  part  of 
manufactures  to  secure  standing  in  the  world’s  market. 
Our  own  university  has  established  a course  in  Higher 
Commercial  Education,  and  the  interest  which  business 
men  have  evinced  in  this  course  indicates  that  they 
appreciate  the  importance  of  trained  intelligence  in  com- 
mercial affairs.  To  make  this  illustration  tell  upon  our 
argument  it  is  of  course  necessary  again  to  remind  you 
that  the  permanent  success  of  one  class,  or  one  interest, 
is  impossible  unless  it  be  accompanied  by  the  success  of 
all  classes  and  all  interests.  The  success  of  the  agri- 

(8) 


cultural  interest,  for  example,  is  bound  up  primarily  with 
the  development  of  a home  market  for  agricultural  prod- 
ucts, and  it  is  a truism  to  say  that  the  limit  of  this  market 
is  the  prosperity  of  those  members  of  the  community  not 
engaged  in  agriculture. 

My  next  illustration  of  the  general  advantage  of  higher 
education  to  the  community  calls  to  our  attention  the 
changes  whch  are  rapidly  taking  place  in  the  conditions 
of  rural  life.  In  mediaeval  times  agriculturists  lived  in 
little  communities,  going  from  their  homes  each  day  to 
work  upon  the  land.  Whatever  we  may  say  of  the  ad- 
vantages of  intercourse  which  such  a system  permitted, 
it  had  the  decided  disadvantage  of  restricting  the  land 
that  could  be  tilled.  The  farmer  of  our  own  time,  on  the 
other  hand,  accustomed  as  he  is  to  the  use  of  machinery, 
requires  a large  amount  of  land  for  cultivation,  and  this 
necessitates  that  he  and  his  family  live  upon  the  land 
cultivated.  1 need  not  dwell  upon  the  isolation  incident 
to  this  method  of  cultivation,  nor  upon  the  fact  that 
school  and  church  privileges,  as  well  as  all  those  social 
amenities,  which  make  life  pleasant,  are  far  from  propi- 
tious. At  present,  however,  there  seems  to  be  some 
hope  of  relief.  Certain  changes  are  taking  place  which 
promise  much  for  rural  life  I refer  to  the  extension  of 
electric  lines  through  country  districts,  to  the  establish- 
ment of  local  telephone  service,  to  the  wide  dissemination 
of  electric  power,  to  the  rural  mail  delivery,  and  the  like. 
The  social  possibilities  bound  up  in  the  full  development 
of  these  enterprises,  as  well  as  others  of  the  same  class 
that  might  be  mentioned  lie  beyond  the  power  of  the 
imagination  to  grasp.  We  are,  I believe,  upon  the  eve 
of  far-reaching  changes  in  the  conditions  of  life  in  rural 
communities.  Such  a remark  lies  of  course  within  the 
realm  of  speculation,  but  it  is  reasonable  speculation.  1 
look  confidently  for  the  time  when  social  intercourse  and 
manufacturing  on  a small  scale  will  be  restored  to  rural 

(9) 


communities:  and,  when  this  shall  have  been  accom- 
plished, the  country  rather  than  the  town  will  offer  the 
opportunity  for  sensible  living.  To  whom  will  the  coun- 
try be  indebted  for  the  realization  of  so  bright  a picture? 
The  question  is  answered  before  it  is  asked.  The  ten- 
dency to  which  reference  is  made  is  one  of  the  many, 
blessings  bound  up  in  the  development  of  science.  It  is 
the  professor  who,  with  his  students,  works  patiently 
within  his  laboratory  at  the  occult  problems  of  electricity 
and  other  mechanical  agencies  to  whom  must  be  granted 
praise  for  having  rendered  this  change  possible ; and  yet 
he  is  not  entirely  responsible,  for  without  the  generous 
support  of  the  people,  thus  giving  him  the  opportunity  of 
investigation  and  instruction,  he  would  be  unable  to  de- 
vote his  life  to  such  a service.  Thus,  ever  do  we  come 
back  to  the  idea  that  the  higher  institutions  of  learning 
under  which  we  include  research  as  well  as  instruction, 
are  of  primary,  nay  essential  importance  to  the  great 
body  of  the  people. 

My  third  illustration  is  of  an  entirely  different  sort,  It 
may  be  urged  that  all  that  has  thus  far  been  said  per- 
tains to  physical  science  and  not  to  general  culture.  It  is 
doubtless  easier  to  illustrate  the  popular  advantage  of 
higher  institutions  of  learning  by  reference  to  the  phys- 
ical sciences  and  mechanical  inventions,  than  by  referring 
to  what  is  sometimes  called  the  culture  studies,  but  one 
cannot  conclude  from  this  that  the  people  at  large  are  not 
interested  in  those  departments  of  colleges  and  universi- 
ties which  concern  themselves  with  literature,  music,  his- 
tory, philosophy  or  politics.  The  physical  sciences  min- 
ister to  the  conditions  of  life;  these  other  branches  of 
learning  minister  to  life  itself.  There  are  many  ways  in 
which  studies  of  this  sort  spread  their  blessings  to  the 
community  even  though  (which  I trust  may  not  always 
be  the  case)  they  are  followed  by  a comparatively  small 
number.  Ask  yourselves  seriously  the  question,  what  it 

(10) 


is  you  desire  from  your  clergymen,  your  teachers,  your 
statesmen,  and  you  will  be  forced  to  recognize  that  these 
studies,  sometimes  called  culture  studies,  are  in  reality 
professional  studies  for  men  who  undertake  to  serve  soci- 
ety in  the  manner  suggested.  Consider  this  suggestion, 
for  a moment,  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  clergyman. 
I know  of  no  professional  class  which  stands  in  greater 
need  of  a broad  and  comprehensive  education.  Espe- 
cially is  this  true  when  we  recognize  to  what  an  extent 
the  spirit  of  social  service  has  entered  into  the  life  and 
activities  of  the  Church  during  the  past  twenty-five 
years.  It  is  a most  encouraging  fact  that  this  great 
institution  — the  peculiar  guardian  of  the  principles  of 
religion  and  morality  — should  recognize  the  importance 
of  the  social  as  well  as  of  the  personal  application  of  re- 
ligious principles.  The  Church  is  coming  to  regard  itself 
as  the  center  from  which  the  inspiration  to  a higher  social 
and  political  life  should  emanate,  rather  than  as  a haven 
to  which  man  may  flee  from  the  contaminating  influences 
of  an  evil  world.  If,  however,  the  Church  is  thus  to 
serve  as  a center  of  positive  influence  in  the  community, 
it  must  touch  the  community  at  all  points.  The  clergy- 
man must  be  able  to  see  how  good  roads  are  related  to 
right  living;  how  manual  training  and  technical  educa- 
tion bear  upon  the  moral  life  of  the  boys  and  the  girls; 
how  charity  is  related  to  poverty;  how  industrial  organ- 
ization is  but  a phase  of  social  organization  and  carries 
with  it  a moral  influence;  how  the  circulation  of  good 
books  may  result  in  fruitful  thinking  and  healthful  living; 
how  through  clubs  for  the  young  and  societies  for  the  old, 
the  roof  of  the  Church  may  be  brought  to  shelter  the 
pleasures  of  the  people  as  well  as  their  worship ; and  how 
all  these  agencies  may  be  made  to  exert  a positive  influ- 
ence for  righteousness  in  the  conmmunity.  This  is  easy 
of  statement,  but  it  is  difficult  of  execution.  The  clergy- 
man under  this  newer  and  broader  interpretation  of  his 

(ll) 


functions,  is  nothing  less  than  a social  engineer,  and  if 
he  is  to  perform  these  functions  with  efficiency  and  grace, 
it  is  imperative  that  he  understands  the  complex  and  in- 
tricate machine  which  we  call  society.  You  appreciate 
the  importance  of  a technical  education  which  results  in 
making  civil  and  mechanical  engineers,  because  you  rec- 
ognize the  industrial  and  commmercial  bearing  of  their 
work.  Is  it  not  reasonable  to  place  as  high  an  appreci- 
ation upon  the  education  of  social  engineers  who  are 
dealing,  not  with  the  conditions  of  living,  but  with  life 
itself?  An  affirmative  reply  to  this  question,  or  indeed 
any  sympathy  with  the  line  of  reasoning  thus  suggested, 
is  an  acknowledgement  of  the  social  importance  of  a gen- 
eral and  comprehensive  education  on  the  part  of  those 
who  have  to  do  with  the  moulding  of  life.  Indeed,  from 
this  point  of  view  I should  almost  be  willing  to  say  that 
the  so-called  culture  studies  are  professional  studies. 
We  at  least  find  a fundamental  reason  why  they  should 
continue  to  be  nourished  by  all  higher  institutions  of 
learning. 

This  phase  of  the  subject  might  be  further  illustrated 
by  referring  to  the  work  of  the  teacher,  or  to  the  nature 
of  the  public  service  rendered  by  those  who  make  our 
laws.  I pass  these,  however,  in  order  to  call  your  atten- 
tion to  a yet  more  fundamental  relation  which  higher 
education  bears  to  the  interests  of  the  people.  You  have 
doubtless  heard  the  question  frequently  discussed  wheth- 
er our  democratic  form  of  government  is  likely  to  stand 
the  strain  of  commercial  prosperity.  You  will  not,  I trust, 
convict  me  of  lack  of  faith  if  I say  that  the  pessimist  who 
prophesies  the  destruction  of  our  popular  institutions  can 
point  to  many  tendencies  which  seem  to  give  support  to 
his  doleful  conclusions.  Without  undertaking  to  analyze 
the  situation  or  speak  critically  of  these  tendencies,  it 
may  be  appropriate  to  call  attention  to  the  fact,  that  the 
chief  danger  to  which  we  are  exposed  arises  from  the 

(12) 


popular  worship  of  business  success.  Not  only  is  it  a 
misfortune  to  the  individual,  but,  in  its  results,  it  be- 
comes a public  calamity,  that  the  acquirment  of  wealth 
should  be  regarded  as  the  test  of  a successful  life.  Our 
society  is  dominated  by  the  commercial  ambition.  Our 
form  of  popular  government  is  threatened  by  the  over- 
mastering influence  of  commercial  interests.  Many  rea- 
sons might  be  submitted  why  we  need  a wider  diffusion 
of  wealth  and  a more  equal  distribution  of  commercial 
power. 

Such  remarks  as  these  commonly  lead  to  the  advocacy 
of  some  legislative  remedy.  The  cure,  however,  cannot 
be  accomplished  by  law.  It  can  only  be  accomplished  by 
a widespread  appreciation  of  what  makes  life  worth  liv- 
ing. The  worthiness  of  life  does  not  depend  upon  con- 
ditions but  upon  an  intelligent  interest  in  those  things  by 
which  life  is  surrounded.  Our  universities  and  colleges 
are  the  guardians  of  this  intelligent  interest.  To  them 
is  entrusted  the  lamp  of  learning.  It  is  their  high  privi- 
lege, as  well  as  their  social  duty,  to  transmit  this  lamp 
undimmed  from  generation  to  generation.  The  truly  or- 
ganized society  is  one  in  which  human  interests  are 
evenly  balanced.  It  is  not  desired  to  curb  the  commer- 
cial ambition  of  men,  for  without  the  commercial  interest 
there  could  be  no  industrial  progress;  it  is,  however, 
imperative  that  by  the  side  of  this  interest  there  should 
flourish  other  interests  and  other  aims  to  the  end  that 
our  magnificent  industrial  organization,  which  is  the  won- 
der of  history,  should  not  in  the  end  crush  out  the  ideal 
of  high  living.  It  thus  becomes  the  task  of  universities 
not  only  to  minister  to  industrial  advancement,  but  to 
enable  technical  advancement  to  minister  to  the  life  of 
the  people.  He  who  appreciates  the  social  significance 
of  true  culture  cannot  fail  to  understand  the  intimate 
relation  which  exists  between  the  higher  education  and 
the  life  of  the  people.  I close,  then,  with  the  remark 

(13) 


that  institutions  of  learning  which  add  to  technical 
instruction  and  research,  the  spirit  of  culture  and  of  at- 
tainment, render  a direct  service  to  the  community  in 
that  they  provide  relief  from  the  intensity  of  the  demands 
of  commercial  life.  From  whatever  point  of  view  we 
look  at  education,  it  is  the  people  who  are  the  chief  ben- 
eficiaries, partly  because  of  the  use  they  make  of  expert 
training,  but  primarily  because  of  the  influence  which 
education  exerts  upon  the  form  and  spirit  of  society 
which  touches  the  life  of  the  individual  at  every  point. 


(14) 


/ 


